


Ease In Gently

by Shujinkakusama



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Freeform, Timeline What Timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-30 06:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8521840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shujinkakusama/pseuds/Shujinkakusama
Summary: Pearl and S' first date isn't flashy or anything. But it's nice. // Fluff with a side of angst, SxPearl, drabble.





	

The first time Pearl went on what humans called a ‘date’ it was far from what Steven and Amethyst had tried to prepare her for. S was perfectly sweet, surprisingly well-mannered, and didn’t mind at all that Pearl ordered nothing to eat or drink at the restaurant.

 

“Because you’re made of light, right?” she’d said, and Pearl had nodded, somewhat self-conscious in the face of someone who really _didn’t_ know anything about Gems. S smiled, took a sip from her soda, and shrugged. “As long as you’re having fun.”

 

And she _did_ , Pearl realized, as they explored an open carnival not unlike Funland—but in Ocean City, where Steven and Amethyst couldn’t spy—and S took interest in Pearl’s halting explanation that she remembered long before Ocean Town’s fire, that they hadn’t been much of a town at all, just a few settlements too far to incorporate with Beach City as it grew. S laughed and asked if she was, “like, a million years old?” and Pearl answered honestly, that she was pushing nine thousand. For all that the pink-haired woman found it funny, she seemed to believe it.

 

Pearl was relieved by that, at least.

 

“So you’re really not human?” S needled, “It’s not just a schtick to get attention at parties?”

 

Pearl flushed, somewhat indignant at the insinuation. “Of course,” she said, “I have a massive Gem in the middle of my face, I thought that was a good clue.”

 

“Mm, you’d be surprised what people put in their faces,” S said, indicating her own piercings. Pearl nodded, and S’ smile was lopsided but beautiful. “And other places. I wasn’t sure—I mean, it _was_ dark. People imbed all kinds of things. I knew a guy—kind of—who had horns. Dermal boots with attachments, but still. Devil horns, right on his forehead. I figured you were doing the same.”

 

Blue eyes went wide. “That sounds awful,” Pearl said, “Doesn’t it hurt? Why wouldn’t he be satisfied with his natural appearance?”

 

S laughed again. “You’re asking a gal with ten piercings,” she reminded Pearl, who looked shocked all over again. “You’re really surprised?”

 

“Greg had a few,” Pearl admitted uncomfortably, brows furrowed. She had never known humans to pierce more than their ears and noses, but S clearly didn’t have the latter. “You have _ten_? I only see seven.”

 

“Maybe in a few dates you’ll see the others,” S chuckled, flipping her hair in what Pearl realized now was a show of embarrassment, however slight. The woman grinned. “They’re under my bra. Well, except this one,” she said, sticking her tongue out to reveal a barbell square in the middle, adorned with a rainbow bead. “Most you don’t take out at all, but I’m not really wearing my nipple piercings at all these days. Hard to hide at work. I’ve got plastic in to keep the holes open.”

 

“They _close_?”

 

The next twenty minutes of Pearl’s incredibly long life were spent being educated on the modern human practice of aesthetic piercing, and while the entire idea seemed fundamentally _strange_ to her, it was certainly interesting. She tried to explain that Gems had no need of such things, but that they _could_ permanently mark their skin, the way humans did—Bismuth’s tattoos weren’t an anomaly among Crystal Gems—and S came away from the conversation thoroughly intrigued, and a little intimidated.

 

“It sounds like everyone you know is bigger than me!” she laughed after hearing brief descriptions of Rose, Garnet, and Bismuth. “That never happens. Are they going to all be waiting at your place when I drop you off to interrogate me?”

 

Pearl almost asked about that—about why they would interrogate humans at all—but it was a straight enough question that she was compelled to answer, and thinking about both Rose and Bismuth being _gone_ still hurt. She looked away. “Just Garnet,” she said softly, and S put an arm around her slim shoulders reassuringly. “She encouraged me to come—I think she likes that I’m seeing someone now. It’s been… a long time.”

 

“Now I’m curious again,” S murmured, “You seem uncomfortable. We don’t have to talk about it. I’m just making conversation, you can stop me anytime—“

 

“You’re kind,” Pearl said, and she realized almost belatedly that she hadn’t stiffened up at the sudden contact. Quite contrary, she found it all too easy to lean into it, and she looked up at the pink-haired woman with a somewhat wistful smile. “I haven’t… been with anyone, since before Steven was born.”

 

“Steven’s your kid, right?” It was hard to keep track of names on a first date, but S could remember that one—Pearl had gushed about him while she enjoyed her drink. When the question made Pearl look away again, S frowned, withdrew her hand from the Gem’s shoulder, and combed her thick fingers through her hair. “Sorry. I messed that one up too, didn’t I?”

 

“Not exactly,” could have been the answer to either question, but Pearl closed her eyes, and they stopped midway down the boardwalk. S waited for clarification, and Pearl sighed. “He’s her son. My… former partner, Rose’s. We’ve been raising him since she’s…”

 

Pearl trailed off, and S sucked her lip ring in between her lips before letting out a low whistle. “That’s heavy,” she said at length, “And the father…?”

 

“Greg helps, but he doesn’t know what to do with a Gem for a son,” Pearl murmured, then laughed emptily. “Not that _I_ know what to do, most days, either…”

 

“I don’t think that’s unique to aliens,” S said softly, “Or rocks, or—whatever. Nobody knows what to do with their first kid. My parents didn’t. I like to think I turned out okay, though.”

 

Pearl managed a smile, and for the first time, she slipped an arm around S’ waist, earning a warm chuckle in return, and the bigger woman’s arm back around her shoulders. “You seem to have turned out quite well,” she said, “At least, I like you. From what I’ve seen.”

 

“And to think, you’ve barely seen anything yet,” S teased, winking cheekily. “It’s just our first date.”


End file.
